If Graeme Swann’s body and mind are not up to the rigours of Test cricket then he has made the right decision to go.

But I do hope it is the end because I would hate to see Swann finish his career in the Indian Premier League because if he can play in that, then he could have held on for another year and helped England to win their first World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 15 months’ time.

Swann has always said that he is a purist and promotes the longer format of the game. He is a patriot too who loves playing for England so the thought of him turning out in the IPL rather than be at Alastair Cook’s side in the 2015 World Cup is wrong.

I think he has got cricket left in him as well in the one-day format. With a World Cup looming England could have allowed him to play on in 50-over cricket only. I know he has struggled in Australia in Test cricket but in 50 overs he could have been very useful next year.

But I do not agree with those criticising Swann for retiring with two Test remaining in the series. He has not jumped ship. He has got out at the right time and by doing so he has made it easy for the selectors to move on to the next era. Monty Panesar can play with a bit of freedom in the next two Tests rather than thinking he is one game from being dropped again and England will go back to Swann.

The Aussies have played Swann brilliantly and he perhaps felt he was no longer going to be first pick. With his elbow causing him problems, and the Aussies belting him around, suddenly retirement is a way out for him. Once a player starts thinking about retirement, he is never the same again. It is time to go.

I felt there was something wrong in Perth. He went for 22 in his final over and looked like a man hoping to be hit out of the bowling attack so he would not have to keep going through the mill of bowling to Australians who were smashing him. As Shane Watson was launching sixes he did not try anything different; no balls fired in quicker down the leg side or wide outside off stump. He looked like a bowler who had run out of imagination.

The towel had been thrown in. In that situation as a cricketer you are hoping the batsman is going to keep hitting you because it is an easy excuse out of the firing line.

For Cook it is a huge challenge to lift his side for the Boxing Day Test but this is also his chance to use Swann’s exit as a way to change the side’s approach. This is his moment to take the team in a more positive direction and play some aggressive cricket. His team has to evolve. They will need more time to bowl teams out without Swann’s wicket-taking threat which means England’s own batsmen are going to have to score quicker, use up less match time to make decent totals. They could lift their scoring rate to around 3.2 an over and all of a sudden would be a more entertaining team to watch. Five bowlers will also be an option with Ben Stokes sure to play a lot more cricket now. It was easy for an England captain in the past to throw the ball to Swann and wait for him to make something happen. But now Cook will have to be more imaginative with his field settings, to help Swann’s replacement.

Purely in terms of playing talent, I have always said Swann is the one player of this generation England would find hard to replace. We have just not produced spinners like him who can attack and defend. Swann was capable of taking wickets on decent pitches on days one and two of a Test. We have had a few spinners who can be matchwinners on days four and five when the pitch has roughed up and there is assistance off the surface. Swann is also a character and we have far too few of those left in the game. The extra media attention these days and scrutiny on social media has made players fearful of being different or voicing their real opinions. Swann was an extrovert and there are not many of those playing cricket. I look at the England set up and it is mainly full of serious individuals both as players and coaching staff. You need a bit of humour in the dressing room to lighten the mood.

A few gags must be needed on this tour. So far it has made the 2006-07 whitewash look like a success by comparison. Jonathan Trott has gone home, Swann retired, Steven Finn is unpickable and Matt Prior is probably on the verge of being dropped. It is crackers.

You question if the other senior players have still got the hunger for the fight. The same goes for the coach, Andy Flower. England need to change their approach but does Andy have the energy to carry that on? I hope so but only he can answer that question. The uncertainty over his future will not be helping the players, who will be looking over their shoulders wondering if a new coach is going to come in over the next couple of months. The backroom team probably has to change a bit as well. It is sad when people have to go but it is also the nature of professional sport.